Build Thread Ratty AX10 Scorpion "restoration"

[Takumi_slayer]

My first build thread, so here goes..

I recently picked up this extremely neglected and cobbled original AX10 scorpion

With these trucks being increasingly harder to find and rarely ever caught out on the rocks these days my plan is to "restore" this truck and give it a 2nd life.

Because this truck is far from collectors quality i want to make it a runner, maybe put it in a local comp or take it to some fun days and actually put some hours on it. With that being said i dont plan on making it "perfect"

I want to have it mechanically solid, update the electronics, keep it true to an og look, and make it a better performer than it is now (which wont be hard LOL)

So, here is it, project Brown Bomber, as purchased.

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Alright, lets start with the pros and cons of this turd

Before we do that though, for transparency and curiosity i wanted to mention what i paid for it and get others thoughts. $250cad or about $180usd.. as they nostalgia is a hell of a drug

PROS:
- The oem orange links and conical washers, this can be TOUGH to find. They wont be staying on this build.. i have a good home for them soon though

- Axial BTA steer kit

- Axial high steer knuckles and c-hubs, front and rear ~ this is also partially a con as the rear lockouts and axles can be a bit hard to find.. and i dont want it to be 4 wheel steer

- RC4wd iroks in x2ss, i believe these have less than 5 runs on them, i dont need them, but good value i suppose

- Tekin HD 35t motor. This is a minor victory, but i have another project that will fit this motor perfectly

- Axial aluminum shock bodies

- MIP driveshafts

- Aluminum trans housing ~ mismatched, but it may find a home elsewhere as well.. not sure yet.

CONS:
- Redcat ridgecrest 2.2 plastic beadlocks, pretty well useless ~ into the spare parts bin they go

- The losi grappler body is in pretty tough shape, and horribly painted to boot

- HW1080, normally this would be a win, but the program port has a broken off pin, meaning i can't change any parameters or see what the current ones are set to. This will go in the spare electronics bin to maybe serve a budget or junk build in the future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- The old hitec servo, it has decent specs but i think its just plain worn out

- The lower links, ball ends are all worn and sloppy, plus they just look kinda awful

- scx10 skid ~ Again this will be useful in another project, but would be nice to have an original unit here

- Chassis plates, as i will show you, they have been attacked by power tools in a barbaric way, lol

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Now for some teardown and close up photos

If you look closely hear you may notice a few of the chassis plate "modifications" lol. The two chassis braces about midway up on the plates do not belong there.. thats the original body post mounting location, no biggie right? WRONG! They are M4 braces, so the holes have been wallowed out

A theme you are going to notice is alot of dirt n grime. How about that body clip though? someones temporarily permanent fix i imagine, haha

A look at the rear end, as mentioned early it was once setup with 4ws

With the front axle out and the servo removed i quickly realized that the servo might not have been weak at all, i could barely move the steering through its range of motion by hand.. yikes.

Spinning the pinion gear i noticed it had an extremely tough spot in its rotation as well... more on that later

Front shot of the front axle

"Rear" axle, i notice some extra daylight where i probably shouldn't

Heres all the axles torn down, for now i have them all bagged up and ready for cleaning and re assembly. Just need to source a few parts before i start that process

And here's the culprit from the fron axle feeling wonky, BANNANANA

Its worse than the picture makes it out to be, it was actually making the whole housing flex up and down as i rotated it.

And ill leave you with a photo of the remains of the chassis, minus the scx10 skid already removed.

I'm now on the hunt for some parts!

 

[Doom!]

Interesting Chassis, I havn't seen one broken down before, I can already tell that I'm going to enjoy this build.

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Interesting Chassis, I havn't seen one broken down before, I can already tell that I'm going to enjoy this build.

The bygone era of TVP ~ twin vertical plates!

 

[HPIguy]

Very cool, still have one of those chassis in the garage somewhere.

 

[xjtorc]

Man, the flashbacks!

That 7955TG was THE servo.

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Man, the flashbacks!

That 7955TG was THE servo.

I'm curious to try it with un-bound steering!

Sitting there without load it sounds like a geiger counter, LOL

 

[Lukedavis]

This is gonna be awesome! Watching!

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Keep in mind i have about 4 AX10s in my que to build/restore.. these arent obviously all for this truck but its too good of a haul not to share!

NOS goodies

And more on the way.

Finding all these old parts is almost more fun than the build itself

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Whoop, forgot a picture

Yes, thats two brand new ax10 axle sets in bag, so stoked to find those! (For another build)

 

[Doom!]

I thought you said restore, looks more like your building them from scratch! Looking forward to seeing all of these come to life!

 

[Takumi_slayer]

I thought you said restore, looks more like your building them from scratch! Looking forward to seeing all of these come to life!

Hey i did put restore in quotations

 

[Spksh]

That’s a pretty serious banana! I’m trying to spot the boot print on the body where someone stepped on this poor baby.

 

[Takumi_slayer]

That’s a pretty serious banana! I’m trying to spot the boot print on the body where someone stepped on this poor baby.

Talked to a previous previous owner of the truck, sounds like it had alot of weight on it at one point. Probably went for a rip off a scale cliff at some point, lol

 

[Spksh]

Talked to a previous previous owner of the truck, sounds like it had alot of weight on it at one point. Probably went for a rip off a scale cliff at some point, lol

“a lot of weight” huh?

 

[CertifiedMike]

Is the resto finished yet? Where's our pics???

 

[Takumi_slayer]

Is the resto finished yet? Where's our pics???

I know, I'm slackin!

Havent had a chance to work on it again yet. Still collecting and sourcing a few parts for it, but getting close. Currently, its a bin

 

[CertifiedMike]

I know, I'm slackin!

Havent had a chance to work on it again yet. Still collecting and sourcing a few parts for it, but getting close. Currently, its a bin

View attachment 266760

Just know I'm watching you...

We all are!!!

Lol! Ok. I just caught up on the thread so I was slacking too.
I'm looking forward to seeing it back on the bench soon!!!

 

[WickedFog]

Watching!